TIME LAPSE
"Hey Clary," Jace said. "Take a look at this."
Clary didn't move. "Is this important?" She said, annoyance clearly unmasked. "Because all you've been showing me these days are useless nonsense."
"Pottermore is not nonsense!"
Rolling her eyes at her computer screen, Clary pulled up her inbox. "You happen to be twenty five, Jace. Harry Potter is way out of your league."
"Harry Potter was started when I was a teenager!" Jace said, indignant. "I have a right to be – "
"Oh look, Jace," Clary said, interrupting him. "I got an email about a party MC and SAI are holding together. Did you get one?"
She turned around to meet Jace's exasperated face. "That's what I wanted to show you."
"It's called the Winter Ball," she ignored his comment.
Jace scoffed. "What are we, like, in high school?"
"Well, you do act like a damn juvenile."
"Excuse me?"
Clary crossed her arms. "Oooh, I just got into Pottermore! Oh, my God, this is, like, the best day of my entire freaking life!"
She looked at Jace, who had a hand over his mouth, trying hard to smother the smile across his face. "I so do not sound like that."
"Uh, yeah, you do."
Jace waved her comment aside, turning back to his computer, where he opened his daily Pottermore website. Which happened to be his homepage. Clary mentally facepalmed, and smiling, turned back to her own screen.
A while later, Jace cleared his throat. Again, and again. Clary shifted in her seat, hand tightening on the mouse. The clearing didn't stop, causing her to finally whirl around, agitated like only Jace could make her.
"Sorry, but do you mind?"
Jace was already facing her, and he had this look she'd never seen before. Kinda anxious. "Where's rat boy?"
Clary felt her eyes narrow as her heart clenched. Although Simon was still her personal assistant, he'd asked to take time off. Because of her. "He's my best friend Jace," she said, with a little venom. "The least you could do is to show him some respect."
He raised a perfect, cocky eyebrow, not at all harmed by her harshness. "Do you show my PA any respect?"
"Do you show her any respect?" Jace pursed his lips, but didn't answer, instead staring back at her levelly. "Besides, Jace, she's a whore. Like seriously."
Her coworker rolled his eyes. "Girls. Can't you two get along? I mean, every time she comes in here, you guys have this incessant death glare game. And Clary, you start to act funny."
She laughed, cursing herself for how off pitch it was. "You're quite the comedian."
"So," Jace said, sounding nervous. His eyes didn't meet hers. "Is he going to the Winter Ball?"
"I dunno; I'll hafta check. But I'll get back to you if you're interested in, you know, those things." [A/N: NO DISRESPECT TO ANYONE! I only wrote this cuz in the books, Jace was straight. And I love Magnus and Alec too. Just wanted to make sure I didn't offend anyone, and if I did, I'm very sorry.]
Where is this leading to? What's he trying to say?
He raised his eyes, and Clary could swear he heard her heart thumping wildly away. "Not interested. The question is…are you going with anyone?"
Oh, God. Is he asking me to…go with him?
Clary opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. No sound came out. Feeling her cheeks color because she was sure Jace would tease her or at least smirk at her incompetence, she was completely caught off guard when he didn't utter a single comment, instead watching her with eager eyes and anticipation.
She weighed her options. Say no, or give into her deepest secrets, so dark she was afraid to think of them herself. To go with Jace. Alone. Together. "Alec," she blurted, unable to control her mouth.
Jace's face dropped. "Alec?" He said, almost sounding as if he was in disbelief. "You're going with Alec?"
"…yeah," Clary said, heart still pounding. "What about you?"
"I'm going single," Jace winked, all disbelief washed away in an instant. "So I can hit on all the hot ladies there."
Oh. Clary forced herself to match his grin before spinning back to face her computer, her smile vanishing as fast as her excitement dissipated. She ignored the huge lump of disappointment in her throat, focusing hard on her computer screen. Oh course Jace would've gone single.
What was I thinking?
…
Kaelie dialed the same number again.
"What," an irritated voice said at the other line.
"Why hasn't anything been done yet?" Kaelie hissed, angrily biting her nails. "They're getting annoying! They bicker like an old married couple."
The woman chuckled. "You've gotta be patient. I'm telling you, it'll be worth it when I tell them to strike."
Kaelie made a big deal of sighing, along with a face at the phone, even though the woman at the other end couldn't see it, and then hung up, pouting.
God, Jace and Clary were so disgusting together. It should obviously be Kaelie + Jace in a heart.
…
"You and Jace these days are like," Isabelle cut off abruptly, searching for the right word to say. Clary raised her eyebrows as another fork-full of food disappeared into her mouth. "Like…like…" Isabelle shivered for the effect.
Clary choked, her hand snapping out instantaneously to reach for a napkin. Spitting her chewed lemon pie all over Isabelle and the table would not be seemly in the place they were in. It was their girl's night out, and they were sitting in a dimly lit club at one of the tables near the entrance where the door continuously opened and closed as more people flooded in. "Like what?"
Isabelle shrugged as her gaze drifted sideways when a guy dressed in leather blew past them. She shifted her inky black eyes back to Clary. "There's like, so much tension between you two that it should be against the law."
Twirling her cocktail between her fingers, Clary made a big deal of running her eyes over a man in the table next to them who was eyeing them back. The guy winked at Clary, who blew a kiss back. Isabelle chuckled, sipping her cocktail as she watched the exchange. A minute later, the man strolled over, and slid something to Clary before walking away. Both girls looked down at it. Scratched messily on a napkin was his number.
Isabelle whistled. "Alright," she admitted, rather reluctantly. "Maybe not that much tension, but still there definitely is something." She hissed as Clary's heels collided with her shin under the table. "But I gotta say, after all these years, you still know how to play them." She raised her eyebrows meaningfully at the guy sitting at the other table. Clary glanced over, and finding his eyes still pinned on her, she giggled and waved.
"I've had a good tutor," she said to Isabelle.
Her friend's eyes narrowed. "Tutor?"
Clary took a good long gulp, tilting back her head to empty the glass. "Just a friend," she said ambiguously, jumping out of the seat and grabbing Isabelle's hand. "Let's dance."
Short, but from now on, things are going to pick up. :D There will be some…action next chapter, and Jace will finally make a move ;) *winkwink*
Hehe,
dayuuuumgirl
PS Don't forget to review!
